


Happy Birthday Dear Morgan!

by MCUsic_to_my_ears



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Birthday Party, Cake, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Morgan's FIrst Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26499211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCUsic_to_my_ears/pseuds/MCUsic_to_my_ears
Summary: It's Morgan's first birthday and the Iron Family gathers to celebrate!
Relationships: Happy Hogan/May Parker (Spider-Man), Ned Leeds/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Happy Birthday Dear Morgan!

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, Endgame never happened, they defeated Thanos during Infinity War, and everyone is happy. 
> 
> Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND!!! This is her gift since we don't live in the same state anymore! 
> 
> Also I didn't beta this because I ran out of time, hopefully it isn't awful!

Pepper blinked blearily, eyes adjusting to the soft blue light that trickled in from under the door. She yawned, wanting to return to sleep immediately, when her sleep-deprived mind finally processed the noise that had pulled her from sleep. 

Morgan was crying. 

Pepper sighed softly. A quick glance at the clock told her it was just past one in the morning. Morgan was just on time, it appeared. Quietly, Pepper pulled the soft comforter off of herself. She was just about to slip out of bed when an arm snaked its way around her middle. 

Tony kissed her forehead and drew the comforter back over her. “Go back to sleep,” he insisted blearily. “It’s my turn.” He said that pretty much every night, but she never quite had it in her to protest. 

The bed shifted as he stepped out and the room filled with the light from the hallway that Tony had installed after Peter had slept over for the first time and tripped down the stairs trying to get a glass of water after a nightmare. Tony and Pepper had both gotten used to them when Peter had stayed over for almost a month straight after Thanos, that they kept the lights on all through the night now. 

The door closed, blocking out the majority of the calming tones, as Tony walked the few short steps to check on their sobbing daughter. 

Morgan only really woke up when her diaper was full. When she was still a true infant, she would eat almost constantly through the day and sleep through the night, which neither of them minded. Now that she was entering the toddler zone, however, she was waking up more during the night. Pepper had returned to work at almost full capacity, although she was more strict with the Monday through Friday nine to five aspect, so Tony spent more time with their daughter most days now. He would tinker in the basement when she napped every once in a while, but he seemed truly satisfied as a stay at home father. 

Her musings diminished and she was almost back to sleep when the blue light flooded the room a second time and then disappeared completely, indicating that Tony had returned. 

“She okay?” Pepper murmured, smiling softly as Tony pulled her close to his chest. 

He pressed another kiss onto the top of her scalp before answering. “Yeah, she’s alright. Just wanted to be up for the exact minute her birthday hit.”

Pepper looked back at the clock with more focused eyes. Sure enough, it was 1:14. Morgan had been born at 1:09 in the morning. 

“We’re never telling her what time she was born at,” Pepper insisted. “This isn’t becoming a tradition.”

She felt Tony smile sleepily against her hair. He reaffirmed his grip on her before they both drifted off again. 

***

Rain pattered softly against the window when he woke up again. Tony found that he doesn’t mind it. He was learning to appreciate the quiet moments. Anniversaries felt so much more insulated now and he enjoyed it. 

Even before he opened his eyes, he remembered the day and it brought a soft smile to his lips. He left Pepper sleeping in their bed and slipped a robe on to stave off the chilly air. Pepper slept better in the cold and Tony wasn’t going to deny her rest. Especially if it meant that he could snuggle up close to her under the pretense of conserving heat. He didn’t think he was fooling her, but she didn’t seem to mind. 

He silently closed the door behind himself, the hall lights no longer glowing, instead replaced by the sun. He smiled, knowing that he would be seeing the boy later that day. 

Tony peeked into Morgan’s bedroom to start off his morning routine. She was still sound asleep, back rising and falling from where she had maneuvered to at the very edge of her crib. 

Satisfied, he went downstairs and started boiling water. Pepper had started drinking tea in the last few weeks she was pregnant with Morgan. The red raspberry leaf tea had been intended to induce labor, since they were both impatient to meet their daughter, but the habit had stuck and he began making her green tea to start off her day. Not one to be left out, he’d started adding hot cocoa mix to his water instead of coffee. The placebo didn’t quite work in waking himself up, but he certainly enjoyed the taste more. 

Once the water had started boiling, he pulled out some oatmeal packets. He and Morgan preferred the cinnamon apple while Pepper liked the peach kind the best. While he was picking through the box though, he changed his mind. On a whim, he pulled out the carton of eggs. It was a special day and they deserved a special breakfast, he decided. He pulled out onions and green peppers as well, chopping up the vegetables and sauteing them in a pan while he mixed the cracked eggs with milk. Omelettes for him and his wife, scrambled eggs for Morgan. 

He’d just poured the first portion of egg into the pan when Pepper came down the stairs. 

“Mmm, what’s the occasion?” Pepper asked teasingly, accepting the tea that he’d been steeping for the past few minutes. She tasted it and then threw out the bag. 

“You very well know the occasion,” Tony responded easily. 

Pepper sipped her tea again. “Remind me,” she requested. 

“We’re celebrating keeping our daughter alive for a whole year today.”

Pepper hummed. “I had no doubts.”

Tony laughed, adding the veggies to her omelette. “I did. Not for you. You obviously were going to be a perfect mother. I, on the other hand-”

“Didn’t need to worry so much? Because you’re a natural.”

A moment later, Morgan alerted them that she was awake in the only way she knew how: by crying. 

“Is that why you’re building me up? So I can go get her?” Tony inquired cheekily. 

“Not at all. I’ll get her, you’re cooking and if I stop you now, you might never start again.” She set her tea on the counter. “And that was me building you up,” she added. 

A small laugh escaped Tony as he returned his attention back to the pan, switching out the finished omelette for the next one. “Highly effective,” he observed. 

He finished up breakfast fairly quickly with the pan already hot. 

When his wife returned with their daughter, everything was ready. He cooed as Pepper strapped Morgan into her high chair and set her eggs on the table. She started off with the plastic blue fork but soon gave up and used her hangs, babbling happily. 

Tony could get used to this. 

***

Once getting out of the traffic in the city, Peter enjoyed the drive up to the Stark’s lake house. Doubly so when Ned was joining him for the ride. Peter had an overnight bag packed, while Ned was planning to catch a ride back to the city with May and Happy. Still weird that his aunt was dating his ex-bodyguard, but she was happy, so he didn’t say anything. 

Ned hadn’t initially wanted to come to the party, arguing that Peter’s pseudo-sister’s first birthday wasn’t the right event to meet their parents at, but Peter had insisted and Ned had relented. Peter really wanted his boyfriend and father figure to get along. He and Ned had been dating for three months now and, as expected, things were going really well. They were both very important to Peter and he knew they’d like each other, even if it was just for his sake. Plus, he’d volunteered to decorate and Ned always enjoyed dressing up their grade’s hallway for spirit weeks. This wasn’t much different. 

The last few notes of the new indie album Ned had discovered played over the speakers as Peter parked outside of the lake house. 

“Ready?” Peter asked. He knew Ned was out of his element and didn’t want to rush him. 

Ned bit his lip, but nodded. Peter grabbed his bag out of the back of the car and then slotted Ned’s hand in his own, leading them up to the front door. 

He knocks once, but lets them in without waiting for anyone to answer. His biosignature acts as a key, allowing him right through the door. 

Tony and Pepper are in the kitchen, cleaning off plates together, with Morgan toddling around the living room with her favorite toy car. 

“Peta!” Morgan squeals and Peter can’t help but beam. He swiftly picked her up and twirled her around and gave her an exaggerated kiss on the forehead. 

Ned laughed awkwardly behind him, which only caused Peter to try and pass his sister off to his boyfriend. 

Morgan, however, had different ideas. He grubby fingers clung to his shirt. “Peta!” she insisted, a big grin, but worried eyes. 

“She likes you more,” Ned commented, although he seemed unbothered by the statement. 

Peter cuddled her close. “She just needs to get to know you.”

Tony and Pepper laughed happily as they joined the trio in the doorway, clearly in agreement. 

Peter gave the parents a one-armed hug each, wanting to monopolize on his time with Morgan since he had a lot of decorating planned. 

“Well boys, it’s time to earn the ice cream cake I bought for you,” Tony announced before the quiet cold wash over the family completely. 

“You requested ice cream cake?” Ned asked Peter softly. 

His boyfriend nodded. 

“Cookies and cream?”

“Obviously cookies and cream, Ned. Who do you think I am?” Peter replied dramatically, sending a silly look Morgan’s way. The little girl giggled, and Peter used the opportunity to pass her back to her dad and to lead Ned in the living room. Once in his arms, however, Morgan immediately started squirming, reaching for her brother and calling his name. 

“Um?” Peter responded, pausing in leading Ned toward the birthday decorations he had spotted on the couch. 

“Really Mo?” Tony considered his daughter teasingly at arms length. 

She giggled at his face--and Pepper laughed more outright on her return to the kitchen--but she returned her attention to Peter almost immediately. 

“I can still help set up,” Peter insisted. 

Tony sighed and set Morgan down so she could toddle over to her apparently favorite family member. 

Peter grabbed her hand, crouching to accommodate her. Once they reached the living room, he let go to pick up the decorations that Tony had selected. There was a mixture of decor of Spider-Man and Pixar’s Brave, which Peter figured pretty well accounted for all of Morgan’s interests at the time. He settled down on the couch, Ned joining him quickly, to further consider the merits of each item. He was maybe taking it a bit too seriously, but he wanted Morgan to at least like the pictures from her first birthday. Peter picked up the ‘Happy Birthday’ lettering and started to pick open the packaging when Morgan began to crawl onto his lap. Peter couldn’t help but laugh and pull her up the rest of the way. 

“Do you want to help decorate, Mo?” Peter cooed. 

She babbled happily in response. 

“Can still help set up, huh?” Tony teased from the kitchen. He’d started to assist Pepper with the Morgan-friendly cupcakes, although he seemed to be ‘taste-testing’ the frosting than actually helping. The party was going to be a small affair, family only, but Peter had insisted on decorations, so Tony insisted that Peter be the one to do it, which Peter figured was fair. 

After a brief discussion with Ned, it was decided that Peter would act as the visionary and balloon-filler and Ned would act as the fulfiller of Peter’s idea. Their back and forth filled the space as Peter determined where each sign and streamer went in the living room. His and Ned’s definition of ‘centered’ didn’t seem to match up, which resulted in more than a few balloons being tossed. 

By the time they’d gotten the last sign taped up though, Morgan had gone down for her nap and the cupcakes were sitting on the stove to cool. 

Ned and Peter decided to start on their ice cream cake while they waited for the other guests to arrive. 

***

May gave Pepper as tight a hug as possible while still holding several gift bags. Further in the house, she saw Happy give Tony his usual visual check over before pulling his former employer into a quick embrace. May rolled her eyes.  _ Men, _ she thought sarcastically. 

Pepper fussed over the gifts, insisting that they hadn’t wanted any. May knew that, objectively, anything Morgan could possibly want, her parents could provide ten fold, but she wasn’t coming to her niece’s first birthday without an armful of presents. 

“How have the boys been?” May asked, setting the gifts in the living room by the fireplace. They clearly had been productive. The walls were covered in a gaudy display of streamers and balloons that were in a mesh of themes that she couldn’t distinguish if it was Peter’s idea or Tony’s. She decided it didn’t matter, as she took in the space. Too bad Morgan was too young to remember how overkill her brother was for her. Then again, the toddler had many years ahead for Peter to prove it again and again. This was the boy that asked Ned to Prom via a two hour scavenger hunt that all of their Decathlon friends were in on. 

“They’ve been a huge help,” Tony answered from the kitchen. “Even if Morgan won’t let Peter move.”

Sure enough, when May finally allowed her eyes to settle on her nephew, Morgan was plopped on his lap, her bottle of juice abandoned on their left. May snorted. “Of course she won’t.”

Peter blushed slightly. “I didn’t visit last weekend,” he defended. 

“You normally visit every other weekend,” May responded. “Is this what every trip is like for you?”

“More or less,” Tony jumped in. “He’s great for date night because I know he’ll keep her fed and she’ll keep him from moving.”

May ruffled Peter’s hair in a final tease. Beside Peter, Ned looked settled in, which brought a smile to her face. Peter had expressed to her that Ned was worried about making a first impression, but it appeared any anguish had been unnecessary. Having known Ned since Peter was in fourth grade, she hadn’t had any doubts that the boy would fit right in with their patchwork of a family. 

It was odd no longer being the newest member. Since she started dating Happy--around the same time Peter and Ned had started as well, oddly enough--she’d felt like the last one to arrive, even if she and Tony had been co-parenting Peter since his sophomore year. Now though, she was happy to say that she was fully settled in to the idiosyncrasies of the family. 

It was how she knew that the only gift Tony and Pepper wouldn’t mind Morgan receiving was the various picture and story books May had selected. And how she knew that the sooner Tony got cooked out the kitchen, the better. Although he’d grown more competent according to Pepper, he really only thrived on breakfast and Italian food. They were serving sandwiches for dinner--just at May’s level--and Pepper looked like she could use the help getting everything set up. 

A few indicative words and Happy and Tony were joining the boys in the living room. 

***

Jim had been patrolling the outer reaches of the galaxy with Carol when he’d gotten the invite to Morgan’s birthday party from Tony. He hadn’t seen his niece since she was a month old and couldn’t roll over yet. He also hadn’t had a strawberry milkshake since then, so he figured it was a good enough excuse to return to Earth for a week or so. Carol had laughed at him, but agreed to accompany him back anyway. 

Unfortunately, they’d miscalculated a bit on the speed of the return trip. Jim had intended to get back the day before the party, but ended up arriving the afternoon of. He’d thanked Carol quickly, and then jumped into the car Tony had sent for him. Somehow, he was knocking on the door just five minutes after the official start time of the event. 

He pulled Tony into a tight embrace, breathing his brother’s presence for a long moment. 

“Welcome home,” Tony greeted softly. 

“I missed you,” Jim responded, equally genuine. He’d get that milkshake another time, it was the company he’d really been yearning for. 

“Hey, Mo, do you want to say hi to your Uncle Rhodey?” Peter inquired of his little sister, who was snuggled close in his lap. 

The toddler had quadrupled in size while he was away. And, to his astonishment, she could  _ walk.  _ He hadn’t realized one year olds could do that. 

Morgan was a bit shy, since she’d never really met him yet, but she was as beautiful and confident as he would have expected from his best friend’s daughter. 

He held her up and whispered, “You are the most precious thing in the galaxy,” to her. 

“Don’t let that go to her head,” Pepper called from across the room. “Her father already promises to take over the universe for her at least twice a week.”

“I can’t help that she’s perfect,” Tony protested. 

Jim just rolled his eyes, greeting the other inhabitants of the living room. Everyone was familiar, except for Peter’s boyfriend, but they all seemed happy to see Jim, which was appreciated. 

“We were just getting ready for dinner,” Pepper interrupted his brief tour of the first floor’s decorations by Peter and Morgan--who had immediately returned to her brother. “Self serve sandwiches, since everyone’s picky,” she explained. 

“Good call,” Jim chuckled. 

“Everyone gets sandwiches,  _ except _ for Morgan,” Peter corrected. “She gets mac and cheese and I, for one, am upset.” 

Tony, who had already started getting his dinner, threw a chunk of bread at the boy. “Go blog about it,” he answered. 

Peter didn’t seem perturbed. In fact, if anything, he seemed slightly encouraged by the response, going on to discuss the reality of ageism in society. Ned joined him in line and mentioned a friend of theirs who would apparently be proud of Peter. Jim let it all wash over him. He hadn’t realized how lonely space was. 

They all ate fairly quickly, except for Morgan, who had taken the opportunity to squish each individual noodle before either deeming it worthy of consumption or throwing it on the floor. 

Once they Peter and Ned had cleared the plates--inspiring a second ageism tired from the former--Morgan was let down from her high chair and her presents were brought before her. 

Just before Morgan could get her pudgy fingers on the first set of tissue paper, the doorbell rang. Jim smirked. Maybe his timing wasn’t as bad as he thought. 

“Well, I wonder who that could be,” Jim intoned sarcastically. 

Tony frowned at him. “Rhodes, what did you do?”

“You said I couldn’t bring any presents,” Jim shrugged. “So I had the presents brought to me.”

As he led Tony and May over to the door, sure enough, all of the packages he had ordered were sitting on the doorstep. The delivery driver was long gone, which Jim appreciated. 

“It’s my job to spoil my niece,” Jim added before the father could protest. 

“Dear God, Jim.” Was all May commented before leaving it to the two men to carry all of the gifts inside. 

After ‘opening’ each of her gifts with a lot of guidance from Peter, Morgan took it upon herself to drag every single book, toy, and outfit across the room several times over. 

Once she seemed to have tuckered herself out, Tony scooped her up. “I’ve got one last thing for you, Mo,” he insisted. He strapped her back into her high chair, which she didn’t seem too happy about, until Tony presented her with an unwrapped cupcake, while gesturing for everyone else to join in on his rendition of the ‘Happy Birthday’ song. She smashed the cake and frosting into her mouth, causing everyone to laugh. Tony passed around more of the treats, but seemed content to watch his daughter attempt to fit the whole dish in her mouth. 

Once she had finished, and ample pictures were taken, Tony and Peter cleaned her up and Peter insisted on being the one to put her to bed. He snagged one of the picture books off the floor and took his sister upstairs. 

Jim smiled to himself. He’d missed his family. 


End file.
